The ward committee meeting of Ambattur Zone held at the zonal office at CTH Road on September 18 turned out to be a dull affair except for the few DMK councillors who attended the meeting. As usual 10 AIADMK councillors did not attend the meeting as it was chaired by a DMK councillor and zone chairperson, Joseph Samuel.
K. Neelakandan, Ward 92, complained about zonal officials for lack of improvement in water supply in the area, despite the availability of water sumps and water tanks that had incurred a huge expenditure to the exchequer.
“Contacting them over the phone has become a daunting task for me,” he said.
S. Andrews, Ward 90, wanted the Electrical Department officials of the Corporation to take steps to repair the electrical fittings in the ward. He said the Local Area Development fund for the councillors was not released. He also asked the officials to take steps to prevent letting of sewage in Padikuppam canal that surrounds more residential localities. “Despite raising this issue in the council meetings several times, proper steps were not taken,” Mr. Andrews alleged.
The lone Congress member of the zone, P.V. Tamilselvan, asked the officials of all the departments to take part in the council meetings so as to know the latest developments in the locality. He requested the officials to prevent letting of sewage by industrial units and residential apartments in the stormwater drains, as this is the major cause of mosquito menace. S. Ravi, another councillor, raised a similar issue. Speaking to Downtown, Mr. Tamilselvan, said “Staff shortage at the zonal level is the reason for the delay in executing majority of the civic works.” Zonal officials informed the elected representatives that once the Chennai Metro Water gets substantial supply from its storage reservoirs, the improvement of water supply can be envisaged.
Funds have been allocated under Integrated Road Development Project to improve road network.
However, the officials said once the Chennai Metro Water hands over the roads to Chennai Corporation, work on relaying roads would begin. Resolutions were passed for allocating Rs.1.35 crore towards flood prevention work for the entire 15 wards of the zone.
As the deadline for completion of the road re-laying work is September, the civic body has asked all contractors to speed up the process before the onset of northeast monsoon.
